Father of protester wounded by IDF fire says troops lied

[Scurrilous]

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/379671.html

<snip>

"The father of Israeli protester Gil Na'amati, who was wounded recently by IDF gunfire at a demonstration against the West Bank separation fence, accused the Israel Defense Forces on Monday of lying.

"One must be drunk to believe the IDF's version" on the circumstances of the shooting, said Uri Na'amati."

<snip>

"Uri Na'amati said the IDF soldiers near the fence "not only shot Gil, but also failed to evacuate him, lied, and did not learn their lesson. The IDF version has only one true element - the shooter's name."

Uri Na'amati also criticized the company commander for his behavior during the incident, and attacked the army for failing to evacuate his wounded son to a hospital. Gil Na'amati is still hospitalized with a leg wound, and his father says the rehabilitation is expected to take a long time."

[bluesoul]

1. Gee

the IDF caught lying, I am shocked!

[GabysPoppy]

2. Were you an eyewitness too?

[atreides1]

3. Are You Saying.....

....that the IDF doesn't lie?

[dudeness]

4. shooting ones own citizens is not

a recipe for political success...the wall is a devisive issue not only amongst palestinians but also some Israelis..the IDF had better get new training to face this "new reality"..

[Resistance]

5. I don't think any new training is required

The IDF is already proficient in the art of gunning down unarmed peace activists and getting away with it.

[Resistance]

6. I wonder

if this guy will start speaking out, making demands for accountability.

They'll probably just ignore him too (with full media complicity).

[Gimel]

8. You think so

but I doubt it. He is free to speak and write whatever he wants to. What further accountability are you expecting, Resistance?

[Resistance]

9. how about

no more shootings, beatings, murders and harassment of peace workers (for starters)

[Gimel]

10. That isn't

the meaning, but I know what you intend to say. Of course, ideally, peace workers should be spared. I hope that all innocent people will be spared from here on out. The wall should be a great asset there. It's a shame that some can't see that, and think they have the moral obligation to put their lives at risk.

[Resistance]

7. a reposted article

this appears to back up the fathers claim

(thanks Scurrilous)

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=380028&contrassID=1&subContrassID=5&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y

<snip>

"The army inquiry by Central Command's Major General Moshe Kaplinski and Colonel Yoav Hareven revealed inadequacies in the army's doctrine for handling civil disorder in the area near the fence, and flaws in the way the Golani soldiers were trained and directed for their mission two Saturdays ago. The report said the troops had riot control equipment back at their base and there was prior information about a demonstration planned for the site - but the information and equipment was not passed onto the patrols in the area."

<snip>

"But the videotape and report presented at the press conference earlier in the day, as well as an independent probe by Haaretz at the scene of the shooting, disprove many of the army's claims. The video shows clearly that while the demonstrators did shake the fence, they were faced from the start by soldiers who were in shooting posture. As for the soldiers' claim that they did not know they were facing Israelis, the videotape makes clear that the claim is at best feeble. From the video one can clearly hear the Hebrew being shouted at the soldiers, "Don't shoot," and as opposed to army claims, only a few were wearing masks and even those were partially masked.

The incident involved demonstrators on one side of the fence, and the soldiers
on the other, with no chance that the demonstrators could get through to the settlement behind the soldiers. While army representatives were saying after the incident that there was about 100 meters between the soldiers and the demonstrators, a visit to the scene Tuesday showed it was about 25 meters and it was easy to hear shouts in both directions.

Another critical question raised by the videotape, edited from three separate cameras that were on the scene, was if the soldiers believed they were in danger why did they allow settlers to cheer and dance beside them in the back of a pickup truck. If they felt they were in danger, why did they allow the Israeli cameramen on their side of the fence and the settlers to remain in the area?

As for the army's claim that Na'amati was "the chief instigator" of violence, the videotape shows Na'amati arrived late on the scene - and as opposed to army claims that he was masked, he is clearly shown without any face covering.

But perhaps most shocking in the videotape is the clear animosity between the soldiers and demonstrators. A soldier is seen throwing rocks at the cursing demonstrators. In another case, when an Israeli cameraman shouts at the soldier, "Why are you shooting? There are Israeli journalists here," the soldier shouts back, "Doesn't matter, I'm shooting in the air to scare the journalists away."

[Resistance]

11. what can be done about these things?

[Resistance]

12. anyone have a guess?